


Red Couch

by morphin3



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Moving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 11:23:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11943138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morphin3/pseuds/morphin3
Summary: How James and Lily met if they went to uni





	1. Couch

**Author's Note:**

> A silly drabble about James and Sirius and moving a couch. God I love these dorks.  
> Prompt: Couch

It is, most definitely, a used couch. James surveys it skeptically, taking in the worn cushions, the faded red fabric, and the two sunken spots where previous students had spent countless hours.

“Where did this come from, exactly?” A risky question, to be sure, but James is curious.

“Remus’ old roommate’s best friend’s sister,” says Sirius smoothly, stroking one of the arms as though it were red leather, not red corduroy.

James groans, wrinkling his nose. “And how did we get it?”

“James, James, James, don’t worry about that,” Sirius croons, leaving the couch arm and placing his hands on James’ shoulders and massaging in an obnoxious and ineffective way. James smacks him.

“James, it’s fine. What’s the saying? ‘Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’ or something? The couch was free, so let’s welcome it into our lives,” Sirius lets go of James and pulls his shoulder-length hair up into a sleek bun.

James snorts. “Since when are you worried about free, mate?”

Sirius pats his hair and then points a long finger at James. “Since Uncle Alphard’s trust fund money is only for tuition and textbooks, not furniture. Come on, James, will you help me move it or not?”

James steps forward and messes Sirius’ hair; Sirius yelps and scowls, and James laughs. They do need a couch, now that they’ve got an apartment off campus, and their budget has definitely been mostly consumed by rent and food. James slings an arm around Sirius’ shoulders, ignoring the dirty looks sent his way.

Sirius shakes him off and re-does his hair, glaring at James. “Oi, come off it, Black, of course I’ll help you move it. It’s only through the Quad.”

James moves to one end of the couch and prepares to lift. Sirius throws him one more dirty look before moving to the other end of the couch and grabbing ahold.

“You just like to show off your muscles to the campus, James, don’t deny it.” Sirius is smirking now, and James rolls his eyes.

“On three. One, two, three,” James counts and they lift the couch and begin walking. They move from the sidewalk onto the more narrow path of the Quad, and James begins walking backwards.

“And maybe I do like to show off my muscles, Sirius, but at least I have muscles to show off,” James continues as if he isn’t lifting a heavy couch filled with saggy springs and musty fabric. “Now watch where we’re going and don’t let me run into anyone.”

Sirius wiggles his eyebrows, “I’ll watch where we’re going, alright,” he mutters.

“What’s that now,” James calls. The couch really is massive; the breeze blowing through the Quad muffled Sirius’ words.

“I said that I’m steering and you should trust me,” Sirius answers with a grin.

James grins back. “That’ll be the day, mate.”


	2. Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily is almost trampled by a moving couch.  
> Prompt: Red

The sun always seems to shine the brightest on the days Lily has to work. Usually she doesn’t mind, but this week is move-in week for the freshmen, which means that she is surrounded by dozens of wide-eyed new students, intense, overbearing parents, and a group of upperclassmen wearing bright yellow shirts with “I’m here to help!” written across the chest.

By noon, everyone is sweaty and overheated, and Lily has had it up to HERE with freshman whining about the heat and the stairs and the size of their closet, and mothers frantically giving directions and advice and lamenting the stains on the mattress, and the moving team rushing around dorm hall corners without looking; there have been three head-on collisions already, and Lily’s elbows, toes, and heels are bruised from yet another student not paying attention. Thankfully, twelve o’clock means that freshmen and parents depart for lunch, the moving team’s shift has ended, and Lily can retreat to the quiet of her own room for a merciful 30 minutes.

Finally alone, Lily changes her t-shirt and collapses onto her bed. She flings an arm over her eyes and takes a deep breath, enjoying the air conditioning and silence. This is her second year supervising the move-in week of her dorm, and maybe it’s the heat or maybe it’s the fact that Marlene got an apartment off-campus and won’t be arriving until the weekend, but today feels like it has lasted a week, and it’s only half over. Lily sighs again and forces herself to get up and get some lunch. The cafeteria is sure to be overrun by freshmen and family; however, Lily has planned ahead. She keeps a stash of protein bars in a drawer for occasions like today.

She unwraps her protein bar and moves to open her window, hoping for a breeze. There are perks to being a Resident Advisor, and having her own room on the second floor, with a view of the Quad below, is definitely one of them. The sights from her window are usually beautiful, especially during the fall when the leaves change colors…. or especially today when there are gorgeous upperclassmen moving a massive red couch.

Lily’s eyes follow the progress of the couch, or rather, of the tall, dark-haired bloke in glasses who is holding one end of the couch. He is laughing at his mate at the other end, and even from behind her window Lily can tell that his laugh, his whole being, is loud and confident. The couch is set down abruptly, and Lily briefly wonders why, and then she sees and her jaw drops a little. Both boys have paused to strip off their t-shirts, and Lily does not think the protein bar is to blame for how dry her mouth suddenly feels.

These couch boys must be a part of the uni’s crew team, because Lily only ever sees shoulders like that on the water. Not that she looks, or looks often, rather, but after two years at a uni known for its highly ranked crew team, one learns what to look for when it comes to….star athletes.

Lily takes another moment to appreciate the moving capabilities of the boys and then turns back to her room. She checks the clock and notes that she has just enough time to refill her water bottle before heading downstairs to meet the next group of freshmen. Lily grabs her keys and takes a deep breath, pasting a smile onto her face as she heads out to meet the next group of freshmen.

Outside, Lily curses herself for not grabbing her sunglasses. She squints at her watch, wondering if she has enough time to run back to her roo- SMACK. Lily is knocked onto her bum, her legs shooting out in front of her.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, are you alright? I was walking backwards and didn’t see you, my god, I’m so sorry, please say something, are you okay?”

As Lily opens her eyes, blinking in the bright sunlight, a mass of dark, messy hair comes into focus. It’s the couch mover, the cute one with glasses, and he’s still rambling at her, his hands flitting awkwardly, anxiously around her shoulder and head.

“Did you hit your head? What’s your name? Do you know what today is? How many fingers am I holding up?”

Lily sighs, rolls her neck, “If you ever hold your hands still, I could tell you.”

The hands stop moving and one lands on her shoulder. “Oh, yeah, you’re right, sorry. How about now?”

Behind the two fingers held up like a peace sign, Lily sees a sheepish grin. A very attractive sheepish grin, she finds she is well enough to notice.

“Two fingers. My name is Lily Evans, I’m 21 years old, today is Monday, August 23rd, and there are about 75 freshman students who are anxiously waiting for me in the parking lot, so,” she trails off, and instantly the hands are extended in front of her. She takes them, linking her fingers easily with his, and is pulled to her feet.

For the first time, she gets a good look at her remorseful assailant. He is tall and his hair is even messier up close. Bright hazel eyes twinkle at her behind his glasses, and his torso indicates that he did not give up crew practice over the summer...Lily quickly moves her eyes back to his face, hoping he didn’t notice her appreciative gaze.

The boy grins at her and sticks out a hand again. “James Potter. I’m sure we would have run into each other eventually-” Lily laughs, taking his hand again, “-but you wanted to literally knock me off my feet when we met, huh.”

James flushes a bit and ducks his head, but his smile doesn’t falter and he doesn’t let go of her hand. “I mean, it wasn’t my exact plan, but I can work with that, yeah.”

His other hand goes to his hair, almost shyly, “I want to say again that I’m so sorry, that someone, ahem, Sirius-” here he glares towards the other end of the couch where his friend is sitting on the couch, a smug expression on his face, watching James and Lily like they are his favorite show “-should have been watching so I didn’t trample any cute girls…”

Sirius snorts. “I was watching, and you’ll thank me later and you know it.” He looks at Lily and winks. “You both will thank me later, I’m sure, if you’re already to the holding hands stage.”

With a start, Lily drops James’ hand; while she is embarrassed that Sirius called it out, she is surprised at how empty her hand feels already. James flushes and uses the hand Lily just dropped to flip the birdy over his shoulder at Sirius, who laughs loudly. James heaves a sigh, managing to look both embarrassed and cocky at the same time. “Please ignore him.”

Lily is also blushing, but she manages to hold his gaze. “Well, maybe you’ll just have to invite me over to sit on this couch sometime, instead of running me over with it.”

James’ smile is so wide it almost splits his face. “Yeah, I think I should. It’s the least I can do, right?”

Lily grins back. “Right. Well, it was nice running into you-” James smirks, and Lily’s stomach drops a bit “-but I have to go help some more freshmen move in, so...”

She begins to walk away, forcing herself to watch where she’s going, and James messes his hair again as she walks past him. She looks back over her shoulder at him, getting one last glance at his ridiculously fit body and that outrageously bright red furniture, “Hopefully they don’t have any couches.”


End file.
